And Then He Kissed Me by Kim Amos Page A

time.
    “I wanted to ask you something before we got…distracted,” she said. “It’s important.”
    Kieran arched a brow. “Oh?” Before she could answer, he grabbed her wrist. His thumb rubbed a gentle circle. The movement made her knees weak.
    “I want—that is, I should learn to ride a motorcycle. That should be part of the job.”
    “You really want to ride a Harley?” Kieran asked. Audrey glanced just past his left temple, unsure of how to address the question. Was it really so improbable?
    He pulled her even closer, and her breath caught. “If you want to learn,” he murmured into her ear, “then I’m happy to show you.”
    She stared into the green depths of his eyes. This is what she’d wanted. Kieran was going to teach her to ride. But the reality of it had alarm bells sounding in her brain. Being around Kieran clearly made her lose whatever composure she had. What would happen when they added the romance of the open road and a powerful motorcycle to everything?
    He traced a line from her wrist to her palm and back again. She found herself staring at Kieran’s wide mouth, at the perfect color of his lips against his golden skin.
    Would it really be so bad if she let him be her teacher?
    Just be alter-ego Audrey, she reminded herself. It wouldn’t be that hard to play the part.
    “I’m looking forward to seeing if I’m as good a student as I was a teacher,” she replied.
    Hunger flashed in his eyes, but before he could do anything, his cell phone rang once more, sharp and loud. He pulled it out and grimaced as he looked at the number.
    “I have to go,” he said abruptly, not meeting her eyes.
    His energy shifted suddenly—going from hot and predatory to cold and something else. Regretful, perhaps?
    Audrey’s heart constricted. He wasn’t eager to be away from her already, was he? Whatever his reasons were, he’d flipped off his desire for her like a switch. The effect left a confused ache in her chest.
    You can’t trust this man, she thought. Never mind that her heart lurched toward him as if ready to trust him implicitly.
    “I’ll talk to you later,” he said, pulling the door open an inch to ensure the hallway was empty.
    And then, when the coast was clear, he was gone. He’d left as quickly as he’d pulled her into the small room. His absence should have been a relief, but instead it left her as cold as the white tile all around her.
    *  *  *
    Kieran strode down the hallway toward the dealership’s used lot, bursting out the back door with enough frustration to make the heavy steel groan.
    Archangel Michael and his heavenly host, Audrey Tanner was going to undo him.
    He ran his fingers through his hair, swearing under his breath. The truth was that he didn’t mind Audrey unraveling him. The feel of her curves against him in the bathroom had been so unbearably pleasurable he’d worried for a moment he might spill himself right there in front of her.
    He wanted this woman, there was no doubt about it. No matter their past, no matter his mistakes. He felt more for Audrey Tanner than he had for any woman in five years—or, hell, his whole life. Oh, the things he would do to her if he had his way.
    What he didn’t want, though, was any connection with her sister.
    He glanced at his phone, where Casey’s number flashed as a missed call. Freezing dread filled him. The picture of his mom, riddled with cancer and struggling for breath, flashed in his mind. All the scheming, all the lies, only to lose Mom after all. He shook his head, trying to clear the image.
    The smart thing would be to walk away from Audrey right now. She and her sister were at the center of things he wanted buried forever. He should fire her, get her out of his sight, and never have any contact with her again.
    But could he do it?
    He paced the blacktop, pulling on the cuffs of his shirt as if the answer was in the cotton. He’d been a first-rate jerk to her, leaving just as they were falling in love, and he